Hancock County

I-10 reopens as emergency officials contain brush fires across Hancock County

A large grass fire burns at the 2 mile-marker on I-10 in Hancock County on Friday, Aug. 10, 2023. The Interstate has been shut down for safety reasons.
A large grass fire burns at the 2 mile-marker on I-10 in Hancock County on Friday, Aug. 10, 2023. The Interstate has been shut down for safety reasons. Mississippi Highway Patrol

Firefighting crews and emergency officials contained four woods fires across Hancock County Saturday, with one of them briefly closing Interstate 10 for the second day in a row.

Hancock County Emergency Manager Brian “Hootie” Adam was in the Bayou LaCroix neighborhood for some time on Saturday off Highway 603 when the fire was burning.

No evaucations were ordered.

The fire in Bayou LaCroix near the highway spurred from a brush fire in the median of Interstate 10 Saturday afternoon near mile marker eight, the same place where a 100-acre fire burned for hours on Friday and shut down all lanes of the interstate.

Here were all the locations of the Saturday fires.

  • Bayou LaCroix off Highway 603
  • Bay St. Louis off Riverview Drive
  • Pearlington
  • Interstate 10 at mile marker eight
A large grass fire burns at the 2 mile-marker on I-10 in Hancock County on Friday, Aug. 10, 2023. The Interstate has been shut down for safety reasons.
A large grass fire burns at the 2 mile-marker on I-10 in Hancock County on Friday, Aug. 10, 2023. The Interstate has been shut down for safety reasons. Mississippi Highway Patrol

Interstate 10 closed again in Hancock County

The Mississippi Department of Transportation closed I-10 from Exit 2 to Exit 13 in both directions for at least an hour on Saturday.

The interstate was reopened by about 6 p.m.

Keep up with traffic updates in real time by using MDOT’s traffic map.

Burn ban in effect in Bay St. Louis and Waveland

With the lack of rain and extreme heat that has blanketed the Coast recently, the cities of Bay St. Louis and Waveland have placed a burn ban in effect until further notice.

Anyone who violates the burn ban could face a fine of up to $500.

A large grass fire burns at the 2 mile-marker on I-10 in Hancock County on Friday, Aug. 10, 2023. The Interstate has been shut down for safety reasons.
A large grass fire burns at the 2 mile-marker on I-10 in Hancock County on Friday, Aug. 10, 2023. The Interstate has been shut down for safety reasons. Mississippi Highway Patrol

This story was originally published August 12, 2023 at 4:08 PM.

Justin Mitchell
Sun Herald
Justin Mitchell is the Sun Herald senior news editor and works on McClatchy’s audience engagement and development team. He also reports on LGBTQ issues in the Deep South, particularly focusing on Mississippi.
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